Thursday, December 20, 2007

Radio St Helena reading my E mail on 15/12/07

Most of the Dxers all around the world are really mad about picking Radio St Helena..why coz simply they broadcast one a year on the Short Wave band.he year 2007 marks a DOUBLE ANNIVERSARY for Radio St. Helena : - - the 40 th anniversary of broadcasting for Radio St. Helena, and - - the 10 th shortwave transmision anniversary.

so they had 2 transmissionsfrom the island....I managed to pick them up on 15/12/07 and sent them an email

Thanks to my frind Vlad in Ukraine he sent me an audio file with the segment of reading my e mail...thanx a million Vlad.you may hear that in my box file under my profile on that blog.

Friday, May 20, 2005

A song that I really Loved !

well....I really liked that song by the gruop Puddle of Mud. it's called Blurry

Blurry

Everythingâ??s so blurryand everyone's so fakeeverybodyâ??s emptyand everything is so messed uppreoccupied without youI cannot live at allmy whole world surrounds youI stumble and I crawl& you could be my someoneyou can be my sceneyou know that Iâ??ll protect youfrom all of the obsceneI wonder what your doingimagine where you arethere's oceans in between usbut thatâ??s not very far

(Chorus)can you take it all awaycan you take it all awaywell you shoved it in my facethis pain you gave to mecan you take it all awaycan you take it all awaywell you shoved it in my facethis pain you gave to me

everyone is changingthereâ??s no one left thatâ??s realmake up your own endingand let me know just how you feelcause I am lost without youI cannot live at allmy whole world surrounds youI stumble then I crawlyou could be my someoneyou can be my sceneyou know that I will save youfrom all of the uncleanI wonder what your doingI wonder where you arethereâ??s oceans in between usbut thatâ??s not very far

(Chorus)

Can you take it all awayCan you take it all awaywell you shoved it in my facethe pain you gave to me

Nobody told me what you thoughtnobody told me what to sayeveryone showed you where to turnshowed you when to run awaynobody showed you where to hidenobody told you what to sayeveryone showed you where to turnshowed you when to run away

(Chorus)

Can you take it all awaycan you take it all awaycan you take away the painthe pain you gave to methis pain you gave to meI Hope you like it too :0)

Monday, May 09, 2005

These figures on the Radio Dial..what do they mean!?

Hi,

today we will try to know more about the radio dial. have you ever wondered what's the difference between Medium Wave,FM,Short Wave etc.....well to make things abit easier you have to know each band by the number of the frequency.. i.e if you hear a station saying that they transmit on 89.5 MHzthen you can figure out that this is FM band , on the other hand if you hear the frequency 819 kHz then you figure out that this is Medium wave.

here's more clarification of the whole thing :Most "shortwave" radios sold today actually tune a much broader frequency range that includes the AM broadcast band and parts of the longwave spectrum. A typical tuning range is from about 150 kHz to 30 MHz.

By international agreement, the radio spectrum has been divided up among various users. While there are some exceptions, most nations and the stations they authorize do follow the allocations described below:

150 kHz and below: Signals on these frequencies cannot propagate well via the ionosphere, but are able to penetrate ocean water well. As a result, several military stations used for submarine communications are found here. Most transmissions are in CW and RTTY. You need a really large antenna to hear much here, and in most locations electrical noise and static will be too high.

150 to 540 kHz: This is what most SWLs mean by "longwave." Most stations heard in this range are navigation beacons that continuously repeat their call signs in Morse code. There is a also a broadcasting band in Europe from 155 to 281 kHz. Some RTTY signals are found in the upper end of this band. Marine weather and safety broadcasts, known as NAVTEX, are transmitted on 512 kHz. Your best reception here will be at night, especially during the fall and winter months.

540 to 1700 kHz: This is the AM broadcasting or "medium wave" band which use to end at 1600 kHz. The AM broadcast band now ends at 1700 kHz, with 1610 to 1700 kHz being the new "X" or "extended" band. New stations began appearing here in late 1997, and this new "X band" is providing excellent DX listening opportunities.

1700 to 1800 kHz: This is a "grab bag" of miscellaneous radio communications, mainly beacons and navigation aids. You may hear several transmitters that sound like chirping crickets; these are floating beacons used to mark fishing and offshore oil exploration locations.

1800 to 2000 kHz: This is the 160-meter ham radio band. Most voice communications will be in LSB, with best reception at night during the fall and winter months.2000 to 2300 kHz: This range is used maritime communications, with 2182 kHz reserved for distress messages and calling. There are also several regularly scheduled maritime weather broadcasts buy U.S. Coast Guard stations. Most activity will be in USB, and best reception is at night.

2300 to 2498 kHz: This is the 120-meter broadcasting band, mainly used by stations located in the tropics. However, the FCC has allowed WWCR in Nashville, Tennessee to broadcast here and others may follow.

2498 to 2850 kHz: More maritime stations are found here, as well as standard time and frequency stations WWV and WWVH on 2500 kHz. 2850 to 3150 kHz: This band is used mainly by aeronautical stations in USB. Several stations broadcasting aeronautical weather bulletins, and you can also hear traffic between airports and airplanes aloft.

3150 to 3200 kHz: This range is allocated to fixed stations, with most communications in RTTY.

3200 to 3400 kHz: This is a very interesting segment. This us the 90-meter broadcasting band, used mainly by stations in the tropics. Canadian standard time and frequency station CHU can be heard on 3330 kHz. Several fixed stations also use this range, including several associated with various agencies of the U.S. government. Best reception will be at night.

3400 to 3500 kHz: This range is used for aeronautical communications in USB.

3500 to 4000 kHz: This is the 80-meter ham radio band. The 3500 to 3750 kHz range is used for CW and RTTY communications, and the rest of the band is used for LSB voice.

The 3900 to 4000 kHz range is used for broadcasting in Europe and Africa. Best reception is at night.

4000 to 4063 kHz: This is a fixed station band, mainly used by military forces for SSB traffic.

4063 to 4438 kHz: This is a band used for maritime communications in USB, with 4125 kHz being used as a calling frequency.

4438 to 4650 kHz: This range is mainly used for fixed and mobile stations in USB.

4750 to 4995 kHz: This is the 60-meter broadcasting band, used mainly by stations in the tropics. Best reception is in the evening and night hours during the fall and winter. In winter, stations to the east of you begin to fade in an hour or two before your local sunset, and stations to the west of you donâ??t start to fade out until an hour or so after your local sunrise.

4995 to 5005 kHz: This range is allocated internationally to standard time and frequency stations. In North America, youâ??ll mainly hear WWV and WWVH on 5000 kHz.

5005 to 5450 kHz: This range is a real jumble! Several broadcasting stations are found in the lower part of the segment, and fixed and mobile stations in SSB, RTTY, and CW are found throughout this band. Best reception is during the evening and night hours.

5450 to 5730 kHz: This is another band for aeronautical communications in USB.

5730 to 5950 kHz: Another jumble of different stations! For years, this band has been used by fixed stations of the U.S. government for communications in USB and RTTY. However, several broadcasters are also showing up here.

5950 to 6200 kHz: This is the 49-meter broadcasting band, and is loaded with signals from late afternoon to a couple of hours after your local sunrise.

6200 to 6525 kHz: This is a very busy band for maritime communication in USB and various FSK modes like AMTOR and FEC.

6525 to 6765 kHz: This is another busy band, this time for aeronautical communications in USB. Best reception is during the evening and night hours.

6765 to 7000 kHz: This segment is allocated to fixed stations, with signals in SSB, CW, FAX modes, and miscellaneous digital modes.

7000 to 7300 kHz: The 7000 to 7100 kHz range is allocated exclusively to ham radio worldwide, although an occasional broadcaster will show up here. The 7100 to 7300 kHz range is allocated exclusively to ham radio in North and South America, but is used for broadcasting in the rest of the world. Several station transmit programs intended for reception in North and South America in this range. As a result, interference is often very heavy here during the night and evening hours. Hams use CW and RTTY from 7000 to 7150 kHz, and mainly LSB from 7150 to 7300 kHz. Best reception is from the late afternoon to early morning, although some hams can usually be heard here around the clock.

7300 to 8195 kHz: This segment is mainly used by fixed stations, such as Canadian standard time and frequency station CHU on 7335 kHz, although several broadcasters can be found in the lower reaches. Various FSK (RTTY) and digital modes are used.8195 to 8815 kHz: This is a busy maritime band from the late afternoon until early morning, with most traffic in USB and FSK modes.

8815 to 9040 kHz: This is another aeronautical communications band, with traffic in USB. Several stations hear broadcast aeronautical weather reports.

9040 to 9500 kHz: This range is used mainly by fixed station in various FSK and digital modes, but it is also used by several international broadcasters.

9500 to 9900 kHz: This is the 31-meter international broadcasting band, and is packed with stations from around the world. Best reception is usually from mid-afternoon to around mid-morning, although some stations can be heard here throughout the day, especially in winter.

9900 to 9995 kHz: Several international broadcasters use this range along with fixed stations using FSK modes.

9995 to 10005 kHz: This is set aside for standard time and frequency stations, like WWV and WWVH on 10000 kHz.

10005 to 10100 kHz: This range is used for aeronautical communications.

10100 to 10150 kHz: This is the 30-meter ham radio band. Because it is so narrow, operation here is restricted to CW and RTTY.

10150 to 11175 kHz: This segment is used by fixed stations. In addition to various FSK and digital modes, you may hear several international broadcast stations being relayed in SSB. These "feeder" stations are used to send programming to relay sites not served by satellite downlinks.

11175 to 11400 kHz: This range is used for aeronautical communications in USB.

11400 to 11650 kHz: This segment is mainly used by fixed stations in FSK and digital modes, but some international broadcasters also operate here.

11650 to 11975 kHz: This is the 25-meter international broadcasting band. You can usually hear several stations here no matter what time of day you listen.

11975 to 12330 kHz: This band is primarily used by fixed stations in FSK and digital modes, although several international broadcasters are found in the lower area.

12330 to 13200 kHz: This is a busy maritime communications band during the day and evening hours, with traffic in USB and various FSK modes.

13200 to 13360 kHz: Aeronautical communications in USB are heard here during the day and evening.

13360 to 13600 kHz: This range is used by fixed stations, mainly in FSK and digital modes.

13600 to 13800 kHz: This is the 22-meter international broadcasting band, with best reception generally during the daytime and early evening.

13800 to 14000 kHz: This is used by fixed stations, with most communications in FSK modes.

14000 to 14350 kHz: This is the 20-meter ham radio band. The lowest 100 kHz is reserved for CW and RTTY use, with USB popular in the rest of the band (although U.S. hams cannot transmit in SSB below 14150 kHz). Best reception is during the daytime and early evening.

14350 to 14990 kHz: This segment is used by fixed stations, primarily in FSK and digital modes. Canadian standard time station CHU is also found here, on 14670 kHz.

14990 to 15010 kHz: This sliver is reserved for standard time and frequency stations, with the best heard being WWV and WWVH on 15000 kHz.

15010 to 15100 kHz: This range is for aeronautical communications in USB, although a few international broadcasters do show up here.

15100 to 15600 kHz: This is the 19-meter international broadcasting band, and it is usually packed with signals during the daytime and early evening.

15600 to 16460 kHz: This band is used by fixed stations in USB, FSK modes, and digital modes.

16460 to 17360 kHz: This range is shared between maritime and fixed stations using USB, FSK modes, and digital modes. Best reception here is generally during the daytime.

17360 to 17550 kHz: The range is shared by aeronautical and fixed stations using USB, FSK modes, and digital modes.

17550 to 17900 kHz: This is the 16-meter international broadcasting band, and best reception is usually during the daylight hours.

17900 to 18030 kHz: This band is used for aeronautical communications in USB.

18030 to 18068 kHz: This range is used by fixed stations, mainly in FSK and digital modes.

18068 to 18168 kHz: This is the 17-meter ham radio band, where CW, RTTY, and USB are used.

18168 to 19990 kHz: This large band is used by fixed stations, with a few maritime stations also found here. Most traffic is in FSK and digital modes. An interesting frequency is 19954 kHz, used for decades as a beacon frequency by Soviet/Russian manned spacecraft. Reception in this range will usually be limited to daylight hours.

19990 to 20010 kHz: This segment is reserved for standard time and frequency stations, like WWV on 20000 kHz. Reception here is usually possible only in daytime.

20010 to 21000 kHz: This range is mainly used by fixed stations and a few aeronautical stations. Most traffic is in FSK and digital modes as well as USB.

21000 to 21450 kHz: This is the 15-meter ham radio band. CW and RTTY is mainly found in the first 200 kHz, and USB is used in the rest of the band. Best reception here is in the daytime hours.

21450 to 21850 kHz: This is the 13-meter international broadcasting band, with best reception during the daytime.

21850 to 22000 kHz: This band is shared by fixed and aeronautical stations in FSK and digital modes as well as USB.

22000 to 22855 kHz: This range is reserved for maritime communications in USB and FSK modes. Best reception is in daytime during years of high sunspot activity.

22855 to 23200 kHz: This band is used by fixed stations, mainly in FSK and digital modes.

23200 to 23350 kHz: Aeronautical communications in USB are found here.

23350 to 24890 kHz: This segment is used by fixed stations in FSK and digital modes.

24890 to 24990 kHz: This is the 12-meter ham radio band, used for CW, FSK, and USB work. Reception is usually limited to the daytime during years of high sunspot activity.

24990 to 25010 kHz: This range is for standard time and frequency stations, although none are currently operating here.

25010 to 25550 kHz: This band is used by fixed, mobile, and maritime stations, many of them low powered units in trucks, taxicabs, small boats, etc. USB and AM are mainly used, along with FM having 5 kHz deviation. Best reception is during daytime in years of high sunspot activity or during a sporadic-E propagation opening.

25550 to 25670 kHz: This region is reserved for radio astronomy and is usually free of stations.

25670 to 26100 kHz: This is the 11-meter international broadcasting band. However, only Radio France International has any broadcasts scheduled here at this time.. Reception is usually possible only in daytime during years of high sunspot activity.

26100 to 28000 kHz: This band is used by fixed, mobile, and maritime stations, many of them low powered units in trucks, taxicabs, small boats, etc. USB and AM are mainly used, along with FM having 5 kHz deviation. The citizens band (CB) is found from 26965 to 27405 kHz. Best reception is during daytime in years of high sunspot activity or during a sporadic-E propagation opening.

28000 to 29700 kHz: This is the 10-meter ham radio band. Most activity is in USB from 28300 to 28600 kHz, with FM used on 29600 kHz. Best reception is during daytime in years of high sunspot activity or during a sporadic-E propagation opening.

29700 to 30000 kHz: This range is used by low powered fixed and mobile stations, mainly using FM with 5 kHz deviation.

SWL and DXing ..the difference!

Hi,so..after knowing what are these figures on your radio dial , we may make an introduction to what we call SWL = Short Wave Listeningyou may ask yourself..what's the difference between a SWL and a DXer ;)we will answer that in the following report.

Shortwave listening (abbreviated SWLing) is tuning for stations located on shortwave frequencies, usually thought of as those from 1700 kHz (the upper limit of the AM broadcasting band) to 30 MHz (the lower limit of the tuning range of most scanner radio). In between those two frequencies, a simple, low cost shortwave radio is capable of letting you hear news, music, commentaries, and other feature programs in English from stations located round the world. Most of the larger nations of the world broadcast programs in English ,French,Arabic,etc...

But why bother listening to shortwave in this era of communications satellites and cable television news channels? Perhaps the biggest reason why is that SWLing can give you a unique perspective on events that you simply cannot get from American media. If you watch coverage of an event in Moscow from CCN or CBS News, you get the American perspective on what is happening from an American journalist. If you listen to the Voice of Russia, you get the Russian perspective from a Russian journalist. As you might expect, the two interpretations of the same news event can be quite different.Ever heard a country be reborn? Listeners to Germany's Deutsche Welle on October 3, 1990 heard live coverage of the reunification ceremonies and received this souvenir QSL card for their reception reports.

Shortwave also lets you get foreign reactions to and interpretations of American news events. For example, in 1992 I was fascinated at how other nations attempted to understand the presidential candidacy of H. Ross Perot. Even European democracies like Britain and Germany seemed bewildered by his candidacy and popularity; they could not understand how someone could declare himself a presidential candidate and achieve such popularity outside of a political party system. Moments like that help you appreciate the profound cultural and intellectual differences that exist between ostensibly closely-linked nations.While no one knows the exact number of shortwave listeners (SWLs) worldwide, most estimates place the number in the millions. SWLs range from teenagers to retired persons to David Letterman, who has mentioned on several occasions how much he enjoys listening to shortwave, particularly broadcasts by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Of course, not all shortwave stations broadcast in English. If you’re studying a foreign language—or want to maintain your proficiency in one—shortwave radio will offer you an unlimited supply of contemporary practice material. If you enjoy music, shortwave will let you hear sounds you probably can’t find in the even the most specialized record and CD shops. Ever heard a lagu melayu song? It sounds like a cross between Indian-style instrumentals and an Arabic vocal style, and it’s very popular in Indonesia. You can hear such songs over the various shortwave outlets of Radio Republic Indonesia. The so-called "world beat" popular with young people had its origins in the "high life" music broadcast by shortwave stations in Africa. Other SWLs arise before dawn to catch the haunting huayno melodies coming from stations in Bolivia and Peru. Some SWL music fans have compiled tape-recorded libraries of folk and indigenous music from shortwave broadcasts that many college and university music departments would envy!

Most stations operating on shortwave frequencies are not broadcasters, however. Ham radio operators have certain frequency bands set aside for their use, and you can hear them "talking" (by voice, Morse code, radioteletype, etc.) with friends around the world. Aircraft flying international routes, ships at sea, and military forces are also big users of shortwave. In fact, some SWLs ignore broadcasters altogether and specialize in trying to hear such "utility" stations.

Another specialty within SWLing is "DXing," in which the goal is to receive faint, distant, and otherwise hard-to-hear stations. DXing on shortwave is like panning for gold; DXers patiently work through noise, interference, and fading to hear a low powered station deep in the Amazonian basin of Brazil or somewhere in the Indonesian archipelago.DXing is a manifestation of shortwave’s biggest weakness—the fact that shortwave reception is highly variable compared to the AM and FM broadcasting bands. Reception of a shortwave station on a given frequency will usually vary greatly with the time of day and season of the year. Shortwave reception is heavily influenced by solar activity as indicated by the number of sunspots visible on the Sun. Solar flares and storms can disrupt shortwave reception for hours and even days. Fading is also common on the shortwave bands. While shortwave can offer you listening you cannot find on your local AM and FM stations, it unfortunately cannot offer you the same reliable reception or audio quality.

Many shortwave stations welcome correspondence from listeners, especially reports on how well the station is being received and comments on their programming. Stations often respond to such letters by sending out colorful souvenir cards, known as QSL cards, for correct reports of reception. Some station reply with QSL letters instead of cards, and a few send other items, like pennants with the station’s name or call letters, to lucky SWLs.

It is difficult to imagine anyone interested in what’s happening beyond the borders of their home nation not owning a shortwave radio. No other tool can provide you with such a wide array of news, music, and culture for such modest investment. Even in this age of satellite television and the Web, there are significant portions of the world that can only be accessed via shortwave radio. The whole world is talking on shortwave radio. Why not give a listen?

today we will try to ID what is DXing and how you could be a DXer.DX stands for : D = Distance , X means the unknown place.simply when you pick up a station on the shortwave band you don't know which station is that...on the shortwave band you may here different stations with different languages..so it takes sometime to figure out where is this station coming from ? what is the language spoken ? we call that IDing the station,sometimes it ain't that easy...sometimes it takes sometime to ID a station specially if they speak a language you don't understand ;).

anyway we will start with some simple info about how to know your radio dial and a way to understand these numbers you see on the dial..trust me it makes sense ;)There are different ways to indicate where to find a certain station on a radio dial. For example, we could say that a station is operating on 9680 kiloHertz (kHz), 9.68 megahertz (MHz), or on 31 meters. And all three ways would be correct!Radio waves are transmitted as a series of cycles, one after the other. The hertz (abbreviated Hz) is equal to one cycle per second. Hertz was named after Heinrich Hertz, a German physicist [1857-1894] who experimentally proved the existence of electromagnetic waves. You may have noticed that the electric power supplied to your home is rated at 60 Hz. Electric power is distributed as alternating current (AC), meaning it goes through a cycle of changing directions of flow. When we say that electric power is "60 Hz," we mean 60 cycles per second (in which time the direction of flow changes 120 times).

Radio waves go through far more cycles in a second than electric current, and we need to use bigger units to measure them. One is the kilohertz (kHz), which is equal to 1000 cycles per second. Another common one is the megahertz (MHz), which is equal to 1,000,000 cycles per second----or 1000 kHz. The relationship between these units is like this:

1,000,000 Hertz = 1000 kilohertz = 1 megahertz

Radio is usually thought of "beginning" at frequencies of approximately 5 kHz, although most available receivers can only tune down to about 150 kHz.The term "wavelength" is left over from the early days of radio. Back then, frequencies were measured in terms of the distance between the peaks of two consecutive cycles of a radio wave instead of the number of cycles per second. Even though radio waves are invisible, there is a measurable distance between the cycles of electromagnetic fields making up a radio wave. The distance between the peaks of two consecutive cycles is measured in meters. The relationship between a radio signal's frequency and its wavelength can be found by the following formula:

wavelength = 300 / frequency in MHz

According to this formula, a frequency of 9680 kHz would be equivalent to a wavelength of 30.99 meters, which we would round to 31 meters. Thus, 9680 kHz, 9.68 MHz, and 31 meters all refer to the same operating frequency!

As the formula indicates, the wavelength of a radio signal decreases as its frequency increases. This is important because the length or height of various types of antennas must often be a fraction (usually one-quarter or one-half) of the wavelength of the signal to be transmitted or received. This means that most antennas designed for frequencies near 4000 kHz will be physically much larger than antennas designed for frequencies near 30 MHz.

Frequencies are seldom given in terms of wavelength anymore. However, certain segments of the shortwave bands are referred to in terms of "meter bands" as a convenient form of shorthand. For example, the term "10-meter band" is used to refer to the ham radio band that extends from 28000 to 29700 kHz. The following is a table of the most common ham radio and shortwave broadcasting "meter bands" found on frequencies below 30 MHz:

You'll notice some inconsistencies in the table above. For example, the 17-meter ham radio band is actually higher in frequency than the 16-meter broadcasting band. These inconsistencies have come about from years of use (misuse?) of a particular "meter band" to refer to a certain range of frequencies.